


walking the wire

by caliban_squalor (orphan_account)



Series: a world we call our own [2]
Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: Companion Piece, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Snicket sibling bonding, angsty subplot inspired by a singular Tumblr post, boatloads of dialogue, here i go again, i'm trash for the Snicket siblings and the beautiful nerds they love, more character and relationship tags TBA, number of chapters will depend on what Brandy writes, set in brandflakeeee's verse, that's my tag for this series, time to find out if I'm good at suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-05-24 00:44:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14944443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/caliban_squalor
Summary: In which Olivia Caliban grapples with the moral murkiness of VFD and what it means about the man she loves.(companion piece to brandflakeeee's "wear a necklace of hope side by side with me")





	1. the storm is raging against us now

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again. This fic was originally just going to be an alternate view of Brandy's AU sequel, told from Jacques and Olivia's POVs, but I recently saw a Tumblr post that gave me one heck of an idea for a subplot and an opportunity to dive into an aspect of VFD that hasn't really been explored in this 'verse yet (I won't link the post yet because spoilers). I really hope I keep everyone in character throughout the fic since I want to show sides of them we haven't seen yet, in canon or in AU. So comments and constructive criticism are welcome.
> 
> Fic and chapter titles come from an Imagine Dragons song (no, the lyrics won't go in order).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He hoped his penitence was obvious on his face, but if it was, she gave no indication that she noticed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brace for angst.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out?”

Her searing glare could have paralyzed him by itself. Her rising eyebrows and the steadily increasing volume of her voice didn’t help matters. But what really made Jacques Snicket feel backed into a corner — despite standing in the middle of the massive library in the home he grew up in and now shared with his fiancée and the triplets they’d adopted — was the contrast between the usually sweet Olivia Caliban and the person standing before him now.

He’d never seen her like this, and he hoped he never would again.

“Well, did you?” she asked again.

He took a deep breath. “No, I didn’t. I just knew you wouldn’t approve—”

“Understatement of the year.”

“—so I didn’t tell you.”

Olivia said nothing and simply looked away. The emotions on her face shifted ever so slightly, showing Jacques evidence of what he already knew. She wasn’t just angry. She was hurt.

He had hurt her. The fact felt like a blow from a crowbar or a piece of glass in his side.

Only one thing made sense to say. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I really am.”

She opened her mouth to say something but stopped at the sound of footsteps racing down the hallway. Jacques and Olivia both managed to soften their expressions by the time Isadora appeared in the doorway with a slip of paper in her hand, a worried look on her face, and Apollo the Great Pyrenees padding along behind her.

“This just arrived by bat,” she said.

Olivia took the paper from Isadora, and Jacques cautiously put his arm around Olivia as he read the note over her shoulder. She shrugged him off the second Isadora glanced away from them to scratch Apollo’s ears, but Jacques barely registered the action. The cryptic message from his brother-in-law sent a jolt of unease through him and rendered his conflict with Olivia suddenly irrelevant. They looked at each other with matching frowns.

“Dewey,” she said. 

“Kit,” he responded.

“Quigley,” they said in unison.

They turned to Isadora, who looked even more worried at their reaction to the note.

“Go find Duncan and meet us at the car,” Jacques said.

“Where are we going?” Isadora asked. 

“Thirteen blocks away,” Jacques said. He didn’t need to be more specific.

Olivia nodded. “Bring Apollo with you,” she called as the dog followed Isadora out of the library.

Alone again with his partner and unsure of what to say, Jacques let a few seconds of silence pass between him and Olivia. She looked at the note again, brows furrowed.

“Any ideas?” she asked curtly.

“Not a single one,” he replied.

She turned and swept out of the library. He followed silently.

“This isn’t over,” she said, fixing him with a stern look as she put on her leather jacket and traded Dewey’s note for the car keys in her pocket.

“I know,” Jacques said. He hoped his penitence was obvious on his face, but if it was, she gave no indication that she noticed.

Some small part of Jacques was grateful that the seriousness of the situation, whatever it was, masked the tension between him and Olivia during the short drive to Beatrice and Lemony’s home. They both knew the Quagmire children were more than capable of perceiving that something was amiss between their guardians.

But that wasn’t important right now. Their family needed them. 

*** 

Had she not been holding her soon-to-be-niece, Olivia would have been upset that Beatrice stopped her from following Jacques and Lemony into the conflagration that was the Hotel Denouement. Instead, she held little Bea tightly, stood beside Kit and the elder Beatrice and squinted at the flames, praying to deities she’d only read about: _Don’t let me lose Jacques, especially not while we’re fighting. This story can’t be over yet._ She sent up a few prayers for Dewey and Lemony as well.

Finally, the three men stumbled out of the burning building and became visible to their waiting partners. Dewey looked on the verge of collapse; the Snicket brothers were covered in soot and perhaps a bit singed but both in one piece.

Olivia’s eyes found Jacques’, and all she knew in that moment was relief.

Dewey did indeed collapse and was sent to a hospital in the back of an ambulance, his wife and daughter at his side. By then, Olivia’s anger at Jacques had been completely forgotten and replaced with sheer fury toward her fellow librarian.

“How could he?” she asked. “How would Dewey feel if someone sent Bea into the mountains alone with an object our enemies would kill to obtain?”

“He’d be distraught, I’m sure,” Jacques said. He had taken off his jacket the second they had broken away from the group; Olivia suspected he hadn’t noticed the heat until his brother-in-law was taken care of and the adrenaline started to dissipate. He pulled a handkerchief from an inside pocket and wiped the soot off his face. 

The two had been debating for several minutes how to locate and bring home the third Quagmire triplet, but they seemed to be currently incapable of communicating effectively. Emotions were running high, and the tension between them had resurfaced despite their best efforts. It sizzled menacingly like what remained of the Hotel Denouement hundreds of feet away. 

“We’ll find Quigley,” Jacques said softly. “We will.”

Olivia wanted to retort, _Right, because you know exactly how to do that, don’t you?_ but she held her tongue. It would be a low blow, and now wasn’t the time.

As if butting heads with him wasn’t enough, Olivia had developed an internal conflict. She wanted to go on the impending rescue mission with her partner, the one with whom she shared guardianship of Quigley and his siblings, but she also felt she needed a bit of space from Jacques. She could focus on finding the boy and returning him and the sugar bowl to safety without her and Jacques’ personal issues getting in the way.

She didn’t know how to tell him any of that. Luckily, she didn’t have to.

Neither Jacques nor Lemony looked satisfied with Beatrice’s plan, but they didn’t put forth a better one. Olivia could see in Jacques’ face the slow, begrudging acceptance of the fact that this would be his first mission without her since they met.

 _We fight together_ , she had made him promise when he proposed to her in the very library they’d been standing in when Dewey’s note arrived. _Whatever comes this way_.

She fought the urge to feel guilty. It was clear that they would fight better together when they weren’t fighting each other.

As Lemony pulled his car keys out of his pocket (gingerly, since the metal was still scalding from its proximity to the fire), Olivia put a hand on Jacques’ shoulder. He responded with his own hand on her waist, as if to pull her in for a kiss, but she tightened her grip on his shoulder and literally held him at arm’s length.

“Take care of yourself and the children,” she murmured, almost growled.

“Of course,” he said.

She lifted her other hand to his jaw and brushed off a streak of soot he’d missed. He grabbed her hand before she could drop it, and his fingers danced over her engagement ring.

“I love you.” An indisputable fact that doubled as a subtle truce.

“I love you, too,” Olivia replied, without the usual warmth behind the statement, but with all the sincerity.

She let go of him, took a step back and felt a hand on her shoulder — Beatrice. Jacques’ eyes flickered in his sister-in-law’s direction, silently beseeching, _Take care of her_. Olivia glanced at her friend and saw her give Jacques a brief nod that spoke volumes.

She felt another pair of eyes on her and responded over Jacques’s shoulder to Lemony’s own pleading gaze. _I will_.

Snickets were terribly good at silent communication, she noted. If only they (she suspected the same was true for Jacques’ siblings) were as good at verbal communication when they were in the wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't expect chapter one to break 1000 words but, welp, it did. I have the next two chapters planned and partly written. After that, we'll see where Brandy's fic takes us.


	2. when i'm away from you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Beatrice couldn’t get away with it, and neither could you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some fun with POV changes and broTPs during this chapter. (I also meant to get it done a lot sooner, but oh well.)

Beatrice didn’t notice it at first.

She was far too busy running through each step of her plan in her head, trying not to feel guilty about heading to Caligari Carnival instead of staying with her children, and definitely feeling guilty about stealing the sugar bowl so many years ago and setting this latest bout of misfortune on its path. She didn’t let herself relax until she, Olivia and Jacquelyn were hurtling through the Hinterlands.

The librarian had looked excited at the prospect of riding on the back of a motorcycle for the first time; Jacquelyn had looked a different kind of excited, and then suddenly wistful, with Olivia’s arms around her waist. It made sense for Beatrice to ride in the sidecar because she was shorter than Olivia, but Jacquelyn’s reactions didn’t escape Beatrice’s notice.

What did escape her notice at the Hotel Denouement but occurred to her about two-thirds of the way to the carnival was the negative energy between Jacques and Olivia, who were usually so openly affectionate. The way they looked at each other had lacked the usual softness, and the fact that they didn’t kiss each other goodbye was definitely out of character.

But whatever was going on was none of Beatrice’s business, so she said nothing until the third night at the carnival. The troubled look on Olivia’s face every time one of them mentioned her partner had appeared a few too many times. Something was genuinely upsetting Olivia, and keeping quiet about it wasn’t helping. In fact, it seemed to be doing the opposite.

“Is everything alright between you and Jacques?” Beatrice finally asked.

“Everything’s fine, yes,” Olivia replied, but her hesitation and avoidance of eye contact said otherwise.

Beatrice made a mental note to tell her friend later that she would clearly not fare well playing poker with Jacquelyn or any of the Snicket siblings. She said nothing and gave Olivia a quick raise of the eyebrows that said “I know better.” It always worked on her children, and it worked now on her best friend, who let out a sigh of surrender.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Beatrice said gently.

A moment passed before Olivia said, “What if I want to?”

***

“Did you really think she wouldn’t figure it out?”

Jacques huffed at his brother. “You sound just like her.”

They had made it to headquarters with the five children and two dogs. A certain young cartographer was nowhere to be found for the second day in a row, the children were in bed, the canines were upstairs with them, and the Snicket brothers, naturally, were drinking tea.

“That’s not an answer,” said Lemony, who had noticed a certain unease in his brother’s eyes when Olivia came up in conversation. He had been reluctant to ask if something was wrong, but Jacques had been surprisingly forthcoming, as if he had been waiting for an opportunity to get everything off his chest.

Now Jacques was silent for a few seconds before he said, “I knew she would.”

“Undoubtedly,” Lemony said. “She’s more than clever enough.”

“I didn’t want to face it — face her. Not only that, I wanted to protect her.”

“Now you sound like my partner.”

Jacques raised an eyebrow in confusion, and Lemony gave him a sympathetic look. His wife and his brother had always been similar: sharp-witted, noble-minded, and fiercely protective of those they loved. It only made sense that they would make a few of the same mistakes.

“Beatrice hoped I would never find out I have a daughter,” Lemony explained.

Jacques took another sip of tea. “This is different,” he said.

“Yes, but your motives are largely the same. Fear and protectiveness.” As Lemony spoke, he watched his brother’s expression change with increased understanding.

“Her motives were a bit more understandable than mine,” Jacques pointed out.

“True,” Lemony conceded. “Her secret was also far bigger. If she and I hadn’t reunited, it likely would have stayed a secret. But we did reunite, and we were already engaged again when Olaf forced the truth into the open. Even if he hadn’t, I’m sure it would have come out eventually.”

“Of course it would have,” Jacques suppressed a snort. “Kit and I both noticed before that night at the theater that Violet has your eyes. And we all spend so much time together that I’m sure everyone would have noticed by now.”

“You’re deflecting.”

“And you’re nothing if not blunt sometimes.”

“Well, sometimes it’s necessary,” Lemony said. He fixed Jacques with a long, serious stare and lowered his voice. “You’re going to spend the rest of your life with Olivia. That’s a long time to keep something under wraps. Beatrice couldn’t get away with it, and neither could you.”

The elder Snicket put his face in his hands and exhaled slowly.

Another similarity between Jacques and Beatrice, Lemony noted, was that neither of them liked to admit when he was right.

***

“I highly doubt he actually believed you wouldn’t figure it out,” Beatrice said between sips of tea.

“He claims he didn’t,” Olivia said.

“Well, he was right about that much.”

“That’s the extent of it.”

Olivia had spent a couple days debating whether or not to confide in her best friend, but she had seized Beatrice’s offer and found it cathartic. To her own surprise, she hadn’t cried yet.

“I wish he’d told me up front, but if I’d been in his place...” She swallowed. “It’s hard to figure out if I would have.”

Beatrice put a hand on the librarian's wrist. “You’re a brave person with a well-defined moral compass, Olivia.”

“I thought he was too.” Her voice cracked.

“He is.”

“Then why?” Tears welled up in Olivia’s eyes and her voice rose a bit despite her best efforts. Her wrist twitched, and Beatrice took the hint and let go.

“I’m sorry, that was a bit harsh,” Olivia said as she brushed away a lone tear behind her glasses.

“It’s alright, I understand,” Beatrice said. “Somewhat. Both your side and his.”

Olivia frowned. Beatrice took a deep breath and continued.

“Do you mind if I explain a few things?” she asked. “About the organization, and those of us who grew up in it? The way you joined us makes you a special case, and honestly, I’m glad you didn’t experience some of the things the rest of us did when we were training.”

Olivia had questions she’d been afraid to ask for months, and she had refused to admit she felt any such apprehension around her cohorts who had become family to her. Now that the emotion, among other things, had bubbled to the surface, she ironically didn’t need to ask because Beatrice was going to give her some answers.

So she said with a stiff nod, “I would very much appreciate some explanations.”

***

It amazed Jacques how out of his element he felt without Olivia at his side while they were volunteering. He had flown solo for years, decades even, but he hadn’t known she was missing from his life until he almost hit her with the taxi they now shared.

“She’ll forgive you.”

Jacques snapped out of his reverie. Lemony had quite a talent for popping up unexpectedly, Jacques thought, whether it was after years of pretending to be dead or a couple minutes of watching his brother give his brooding abilities a run for their money.

And of course, Lemony knew where Jacques’ mind was and assumed they weren’t done talking. Jacques would have been annoyed if he hadn’t appreciated the support, especially from someone who could understand Olivia’s point of view to an extent.

He didn’t need to ask why Lemony was so sure. Instead he said, “You forgave Beatrice.”

“Exactly.”

The Snickets had always been able to read and understand each other like extensions of themselves, and Lemony’s years of absence from his siblings’ lives had changed nothing. Jacques thought back to their reunion at a different sanctuary months ago, when Lemony had stitched up the wound in his side with Beatrice and Olivia’s help. The brothers had wasted no time reconnecting once they were alone, curiosity abundant on both sides. It wasn’t long before the conversation turned to VFD’s most recent recruit.

_“This might sound irrational, but I think I’m already in love with her.” The words tumbled out of Jacques’ mouth before he knew it. Perhaps the pain in his side had dulled his impulse control, or perhaps that was a side effect of being in love. The latter seemed more likely._

_Lemony’s eyes moved to the two women conversing several feet away, but Jacques knew he was really only looking at one of them. “‘And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays.’”_

_“Shakespeare,” Jacques said with a smile. “I’ve missed you, brother.”_

The smile hinted at a return, all those months later. Jacques realized he hadn’t smiled since before the fight.

“Once Quigley is safe, I’ll talk to Olivia,” he said.

Lemony nodded his agreement. “Being fresh out of a hazardous situation makes a conversation like that easier, trust me.”

“I do trust you,” Jacques said, and the look he shared with his brother allowed him to breathe easier for the first time in days.

***

“I understand a few things better now.”

“Good,” Beatrice said. “You deserve it.”

“I keep thinking I’ve learned everything about VFD, and then I find out I haven’t.” Olivia stared into a corner of the tent. “There are so many layers. So many secrets.”

“Such is life in this organization. And such is life with the Snickets, especially since you’re going to be one.” Beatrice’s statement brought Olivia’s attention back to her friend, who threw a glance at the librarian’s engagement ring.

Olivia had decided with no hesitation that she was going to change her last name upon marrying Jacques. She might as well have left the Caliban name behind forever at the trolley stop when she got into her future husband’s taxi for the first time.

She absentmindedly fiddled with the ring, which she was glad she didn’t have to take off for the Madame Lulu disguise thanks to the myriad of other rings that camouflaged it. She slid it up her finger just enough to reveal the small eye-shaped tattoo underneath.

Two symbols on one finger. The ring bound her to Jacques, and the tattoo bound her to VFD. One was permanent, and one signified something permanent to come.

“Are you feeling better?” Beatrice asked.

“Yes. I’m still upset with him, mostly for not saying anything. The rest of it...” Olivia searched for the right words. “...makes a certain amount of sense. I’m not saying I approve,” she added quickly.

“That’s valid.”

“I wish I could talk to him about it right now, but we’re miles apart and stuck in a limbo of sorts.”

“I know the feeling. It isn’t a pleasant one,” Beatrice winced at the memory. “This probably isn’t the best comparison, but that night at the theater, I was dreading talking to Lemony about Violet after he woke up. I knew it was a necessary discussion, so I desperately wanted to both get it over with and completely avoid it, if only that were possible.”

“You think that’s how Jacques is feeling now?" Olivia asked nervously. "You think he’s dreading talking to me?”

Beatrice thought for a second and said, “No, dreading is too strong of a word. My secret was more serious, and I hid it for fifteen years. Besides, Jacques is the biggest softie of all the Snickets.”

“Oh, easily.”

“And they all have made foolish decisions out of love before, but Jacques has always been more practical and less stubborn than his siblings.”

“I believe that.”

“You two will be fine,” Beatrice declared, and Olivia's expression softened instantly.

“I miss him,” she said.

“Of course.”

“Missing him while we’re fighting is a strange juxtaposition," Olivia thought out loud.

Beatrice gave her a small smile. “I know that feeling, too.”

They were quiet for a moment until Olivia said, “Thanks for listening."

“Anytime you need me, I’m here,” Beatrice said over the rim of her teacup.

“We have more important things to focus on anyway,” Olivia reminded herself as much as her friend.

Beatrice nodded. “Quigley.”

“At least the rest of the children are safe.”

(Neither woman could have predicted that three of the five children currently safe at headquarters would start plotting a rash and very unsafe rescue mission within the next forty-eight hours, but at that very moment, Olivia's words were true.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked writing Lemony and Beatrice's POVs, however brief they were. I might do more narrator-switching later, we'll see. I also had to include my little idea about how Olivia and Beatrice got to the carnival in this chapter, partly because I wanted Jacquelyn to be in this story somehow. (Also, if Jacques weren't in the picture, I would highkey ship Olivia with Jacquelyn, who definitely has a crush on her in this 'verse _and_ in canon. I want to write more about that at some point.)
> 
> I thought breaking this chapter into snippets would make it a short one, but I hit 2000 words... I wish I hadn't taken as long to write it, but this is the 5th Jacques/Olivia fic updated in the past 24 hours, so maybe I actually timed it well, haha. Speaking of which, chapter 4 is now materializing in my head thanks to the latest addition to "wear a necklace of hope side by side with me." But I'll have to knock out chapter 3 first, and it's set at headquarters. I'll try not to overanalyze Jacques and Olivia's reunion.


End file.
